When They Cry
by Holy Spork
Summary: AU. The oracle has come, and the Journey of Regeneration has begun. However, on the journey things start to go wrong, and Lloyd and the others wonder if it’s because of the curse...


BAD SPORK! YOU HAVE ENOUGH STORIES GOING ALREADY! DON'T POST A NEW ONE!

Anyway...

Please read this author's note, as it contains some very important information.

This fiction is a sort-of crossover between Tales of Symphonia and the anime Higurashi no Naku Koro Ni. However, **you do **_**not**_** need to have seen or know anything about Higurashi to read this fiction**. All I'm doing is stealing several elements from Higurashi, as well as taking some of my own ideas, and throwing them at Symphonia, then sitting back and watching what happens.

For those who do not know, Higurashi is a horror anime, and an extremely violent one at that, and some of those characteristics have bled (ha ha) into this crossover. Firstly, there is going to be violence, and lots of it (including character death). Some of it will be borderline M, so be aware of that. Also, I want to point out that this fiction _is_ horror, or at least tries to be. This is my first attempt at writing this genre (yay exploration!), so instead of laughing at how much I fail at writing horror, I would appreciate it if you could politely point out what's wrong and maybe how to fix it.

Also, some of the characters will seem (_very_) OOC, particularly in later chapters, but this is done on purpose as a part of the crossover. I'll try to make the changes as convincing as possible, so be patient with me. There _is_ a reason the characters behave the way they do. I'll explain everything. Eventually.

Lastly, since this is also AU, I'll skim or skip any parts of the story that remain unchanged from the game (like most of this chapter...), otherwise that'll ruin the pace of the story and bore me and all of you guys.

So if a girl with orange hair, a blank stare, and an enormous billhook cleaver shows up outside your house, it's because you blatantly ignored this author's note and made a stupid or rude comment about something which I have already addressed here... or just a general stupid or rude comment. (Take notice of the words stupid and rude - intelligent and polite comments/criticisms are exempted from this.)

So please take into consideration what I have said here, and please do not flame. Flamers will be given to Rena to take home. (i.e. given to the girl with the orange hair, blank stare, and enormous billhook cleaver.)

Omochikaeri, _fools_.

Disclaimer: I do not own Tales of Symphonia, its characters, plot line, or locations, all of which belong to Namco-Bandai. Also, Higurashi no Naku Koro Ni and all of its characters, plot line, and locations belong to 07th Expansion.

* * *

_When They Cry_

Journey of Regeneration Chapter One: Start

_The victim screamed as she was stabbed, the blade sinking into her stomach._

_She struggled out of a mad mindless instinct to escape, but that only worsened the pain. A cough escaped the victim's lips along with a trickle of blood. Her attacker didn't move or make a sound, wishing with all his heart that she would just _die_. Her struggles became weaker and weaker as blood drained away from the wound on her stomach. After one last gasp, she became still, and only then did her attacker pull back. With nothing left to support her, the victim fell to the ground without a sound, and stained the grass red._

_The attacker stood over the corpse, completely still, his eyes wide, apparently unable to fully comprehend what he had just done. Then he smiled a little; she was just one less obstacle._

_He didn't regret what he had done._

_Not at all._

* * *

"Lloyd Irving, wake up!"

_Wham!_

Lloyd coughed, as he had inhaled the dust from the chalkboard eraser Raine Sage had thrown at him.

"Honestly," the teacher began, crossing her arms. "How _do_ you manage to sleep standing up?"

"S-sorry Professor Sage..." Lloyd mumbled, embarrassed.

"Now," Raine began, turning to the rest of her class. "Who can tell me the reason for the Chosen's - "

Without any warning a bright white light suddenly seem to fill the whole world, startling everyone in the schoolhouse. Then just as quickly as it appeared the light dissipated, and when everyone looked outside, they could clearly see a pillar of white light coming from the direction of the Martel Temple.

"The oracle!" one of the schoolchildren cried. "The oracle has come!"

"Everyone stay calm!" Raine ordered. "I'm going to investigate. No one else is to leave this schoolhouse, understood?"

Raine waved to Colette, and the girl ran over to her teacher, butterflies beginning to swarm in her stomach. This was the Day of Prophecy, after all...

Raine wasn't terribly surprised when Lloyd and Genis ran up to her along with Colette.

"We're coming with you!" Lloyd asserted, before Raine could tell him to go sit back down. Genis nodded, showing his support.

Colette smiled. "Thanks!"

Raine sighed; this wasn't the time to argue with Lloyd. The boy could be so stubborn.

* * *

The temple had been attacked.

A band of Desians and their leader, a brutish-looking man with brown hair, had killed all the priests in the temple, and had caught Phaidra trying to flee the temple.

"We've come for the Chosen!" the Desian leader shouted at Phaidra, who cowered in front of the armed Desians. "Where is she?"

It was then that Lloyd and the others reached the top of the stairs, and the Desian had his answer.

Without needing orders the Desian grunts ran at Colette and the others. Lloyd and Colette drew their weapons, Genis began to charge a spell, and Raine prepared to heal anyone who was hurt.

However, as soon as Lloyd started fighting one of the Desian grunts, he knew they were in trouble. These were trained soldiers, and they were stronger and faster than Lloyd or any of his friends. They were going to lose.

Then there was a scream, and one of the Desian grunts fell over, clutching a wound in his side. Standing where the victim had once been was a man holding a stained sword.

The Desians backed away from the Chosen's mysterious rescuer. Lloyd and the others stared in surprise.

"Who are...?" Lloyd began.

The man glanced over his shoulder at Lloyd and the others.

"Stay back."

Kratos returned his attention to his enemies, who were intimidated by this newcomer.

"Damn..." the Desian leader cursed. "Retreat!"

The Desians ran away, and Kratos made no move to pursue them. When they were gone, he sheathed his sword, and turned to examine the people had just saved.

"At least it appears no one is critically wounded," he said, more to himself then to anyone else.

"I must thank you for saving the Chosen," said Phaidra, unable to express her gratitude with simple words.

The mercenary looked at Colette. "So this girl is the Chosen?"

"That's right!" Colette chirped, as if she had forgotten the whole reason that she had come to the temple in the first place. "I need to go accept the oracle!"

"I'll come too!" Lloyd volunteered instantly.

Phaidra frowned. "Lloyd, I wouldn't be comfortable with just you going."

For a second, the whole world seemed to pause, and Kratos felt his chest tighten.

...Lloyd?

"Your name is Lloyd?"

Lloyd fumed. "Yeah, but who are you to ask for my name?"

Kratos immediately recovered his normal stoic manner.

"I am Kratos," the mercenary began, "and if I am paid, I will accept the task of guarding the Chosen."

Phaidra frowned, obviously disliking the thought of paying someone to protect Colette. "All the priests who were to accompany her died in the attack... I suppose I have no choice."

"I-I'm still going!" Lloyd said, determined to go.

"No," Kratos said sharply. "_Children_ need to stay home."

"I'm sorry Lloyd, but I have to agree with him," Raine added. "The temple is a dangerous place to be."

Lloyd was fuming now.

"Um... Mr. Kratos, Professor Raine," Colette began meekly. "Can Lloyd please come? I get nervous when he's not around."

Raine considered this. "...All right, but try to stay out of trouble."

Kratos sighed, exasperated. "Fine."

He turned away and walked towards the temple's entrance.

"Thanks Colette," Lloyd whispered. Then he shouted, "Let's go get that oracle!"

Kratos sighed again.

"This isn't a field trip, you know..."

* * *

"So now you're really the Chosen!" Lloyd said, almost bouncing with excitement.

Lloyd and the others were on their way back to the village, Colette with her new Cruxis Crystal on her neck.

"This is amazing!" Genis chirped, just as excited as his best friend. "It's just like all the stories! You know, about going out and saving the world!"

"Yes, Colette will have to go on the Journey of Regeneration now," Raine said, looking down at Colette, who seemed nervous.

"Can I come too?" Lloyd asked, with barely contained enthusiasm.

Colette and the others were startled by this question. "Huh?" Colette said, surprised.

"Come with you on the journey, I mean," Lloyd explained. "I want to come with you and help you regenerate the world!"

"Impossible."

The boy glared at Kratos who had spoken. The mercenary turned to look at Lloyd, and his stare made Lloyd uncomfortable.

"I suppose you are not aware of the dangers associated with this journey?" Kratos began. "First of all, the Desians will never stop hunting the Chosen, for if she completes the journey then they will fall. Secondly, there are the wandering monsters, which can attack at any time. I doubt you are ready for such trials."

"I can handle it!" Lloyd snapped. "I'll do whatever it takes to keep Colette safe!"

Kratos raised an eyebrow. "Is that so?"

"...And what about the curse?"

Lloyd and the others stopped walking immediately. They turned to Genis, who had spoken. His arms were hanging limply at his sides, his head was hung, his bangs hiding his eyes.

"...Curse?" Lloyd began, confused both by his friend's behavior and words. "What curse?"

"There is no curse," Raine insisted, walking over to her little brother. She knelt down in front of him, and placed both hands on his shoulders. She whispered something to him that none of the others could hear. Then Genis nodded, and seemed to perk up immediately. Raine, Genis, and Kratos continued walking, while Colette and Lloyd just stared at them. The two friends looked at each other, puzzled.

What curse?

* * *

Later that night, there was a knock at the door.

"I'll get it, Dad," Lloyd said, as his foster father looked up from his forge. Lloyd got up from the table and walked to the door, and when he opened it he saw Colette and the others standing outside.

"Lloyd, can we talk?" Colette asked, meekly. "...On the terrace?"

"Huh?" Lloyd blushed a little. "Oh... sure!"

Colette smiled and walked inside. Genis, Raine, and Kratos, who had followed her out of either curiosity, or to protect her, stayed outside. Genis and Rained walked over to Noishe's pen, to give the green 'dog' a friendly greeting.

Kratos wandered around the outside of the house, examining it critically.

So this was where the boy lived? It was such a coincidence, a human boy named Lloyd, growing up in this forest... and Kratos had seen Noishe in his pen at the side of the house. But there was one thing he still wanted to find before he could be really sure...

He quickly found his evidence, walking a little further away from the house. He instantly spotted the grave, with its two delicate vases of flowers, right behind the house.

As he walked closer, he noticed that there was nothing carved onto the stone, except for one name:

Anna.

This was her grave.

He almost stopped breathing, his normal calm mask slipping and his shock now clear on his face. He took a step toward the grave, reaching out a hand to touch the headstone. This was Anna's grave, and that meant Lloyd really was his son. Lloyd had survived!

But how? How could a three-year-old child survive a fall like that, and how had Kratos failed to find him again? After the events on the cliff, he had spent hours wandering the forest, shouting his son's name, desperate for a reply of any kind, his head filled with nothing but fear and desperation. He have given up hope, unable to find anything, but he had clearly been too blind or deaf or stupid to realize his son was still alive! It seemed that all he could do was make mistakes and commit sins -

He heard footsteps behind him.

Kratos quickly turned around but saw nothing behind him. He already knew Genis and Raine were over at Noishe's pen, and Colette, Lloyd, and Dirk were inside, so it couldn't have been any of them that he had heard.

Thinking it must have just been an animal he had heard, Kratos returned his attention to the grave. He felt a little calmer now, though he knew his regrets would return to haunt him. He knelt down in front of the gravestone, wondering if Anna would ever forgive him for failing to find their son after that night on the cliff.

He did not know that by the end of his journey, he would have an answer.

**

* * *

A/N: **Okay, okay, there wasn't much horror in this chapter. I know it's a slow and not very detailed start. I'm working on it, I swear!

Please review, and please let me know if anyone actually cares if I continue this or not.


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